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Low levels of vitamin C were associated with higher levels of high sensitivity C-Reactive protein (hsCRP) and shorter intervals without major cardiac issues or death for heart failure patients, in research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011. Compared to those with high vitamin C intake from food, heart failure patients in the study who had low vitamin C intake were 2.4 times more likely to have higher levels of hsCRP, a marker for inflammation and a risk factor for heart disease. The study is the first to demonstrate that low vitamin C intake is associated with worse...

Researchers at Lund University have discovered a new function for vitamin C. Treatment with vitamin C can dissolve the toxic protein aggregates that build up in the brain in Alzheimer's disease. The research findings are now being presented in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The brains of people with Alzheimer's disease contain lumps of so-called amyloid plaques which consist of misfolded protein aggregates. They cause nerve cell death in the brain and the first nerves to be attacked are the ones in the brain's memory centre. "When we treated brain tissue from mice suffering from Alzheimer's disease with vitamin C,...

Simple treatment may counteract widespread problem of subnormal vitamin levels in acute-care patientsTreatment with vitamin C rapidly improves the emotional state of acutely hospitalized patients, according to a study carried out by researchers at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH) and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI). In a double-blind clinical trial, patients admitted to the JGH were randomly assigned to receive either vitamin C or vitamin D supplements for seven to ten days. Patients administered vitamin C had a rapid and statistically and clinically significant improvement in mood state, but no significant change in mood occurred with...

New research in the FASEB Journal reports vitamin C reverses abnormalities caused by Werner syndrome gene, including cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart failure and high cholesterolA new research discovery published in the January 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) suggests that treatments for disorders that cause accelerated aging, particularly Werner's syndrome, might come straight from the family medicine chest. In the research report, a team of Canadian scientists show that vitamin C stops and even reverses accelerated aging in a mouse model of Werner's syndrome, but the discovery may also be applicable to other progeroid syndromes. People with Werner's...

Famous for its antioxidant properties and role in tissue repair, vitamin C is touted as beneficial for illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer and perhaps even for slowing the aging process. Now, a study published online on December 24th by Cell Press in the journal Cell Stem Cell uncovers an unexpected new role for this natural compound: facilitating the generation of embryonic-like stem cells from adult cells. Over the past few years, we have learned that adult cells can be reprogrammed into cells with characteristics similar to embryonic stem cells by turning on a select set of genes....

WASHINGTON: Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center researchers have found a link between taking vitamin C with insulin and stopping blood vessel damage caused by type 1 diabetes. While neither therapy produced desired results when used alone, the combination of insulin to control blood sugar together with the use of Vitamin C, stopped blood vessel damage caused by the disease in patients with poor glucose control, said researchers. The findings appear this week in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. "We had tested this theory on research models, but this is the first time anyone has shown the therapy's effectiveness...

A friend I know via the internet told me yesterday that he, and now his little daughter, have a strain of MRSA that is resistant to "almost everything". His seems to be improving somewhat, but hers is not. Although I have never met him, he is almost like a brother because of the wonderful conversations we have had about God, truth and the meaning of life. If anyone would like to pray for their wellbeing, I would greatly appreciate it, as other than prayer, I can do nothing to help them, and ultimately, the Supreme Lord is our only refuge.

Study Shows Vitamin C From Food or Supplements May Reduce the Risk of Gout Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD Boosting vitamin C intake may be a simple way to help prevent one of the most common forms of arthritis. A new study shows the vitamin better known for fighting colds may also prevent gout. Researchers found men who had the highest vitamin C intake from supplements and food were up to 45% less likely to develop the painful condition than those who had the lowest. Vitamin C is found naturally in citrus fruit, broccoli, and other fruits and vegetables; it...

The Dark Side of Linus Pauling's Legacy Stephen Barrett, M.D. Linus Pauling, Ph.D. (1901-1994), was the only person ever to win two unshared Nobel prizes. He received these awards for chemistry in 1954 and for peace in 1962. He contributed greatly to the development of chemical theories. His impact on the health marketplace, however, was anything but laudable. Pauling is largely responsible for the widespread misbelief that high doses of vitamin C are effective against colds and other illnesses. In 1968, he postulated that people's needs for vitamins and other nutrients vary markedly and that to maintain good health, many...

Vitamin C can impede the growth of some types of tumors although not in the way some scientists had suspected, researchers reported on Monday. The new research, published in the journal Cancer Cell, supported the general notion that vitamin C and other so-called antioxidants can slow tumor growth, but pointed to a mechanism different from the one many experts had suspected. The researchers generated encouraging results when giving vitamin C to mice that had been implanted with human cancer cells -- either the blood cancer lymphoma or prostate cancer. Another antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine, also limited tumor growth in the mice, the...

No tangerines for you? July 24, 2007 The politics of global warming got very concrete, and oddly difficult, In a meeting with local environmentalists in the coastal town of McClellanville today, where Elizabeth Edwards raised in passing the importance of relying on locally-grown fruit. "We've been moving back to 'buy local,'" Mrs. Edwards said, outlining a trade policy that "acknowledges the carbon footprint" of transporting fruit. "I live in North Carolina. I'll probably never eat a tangerine again," she said, speaking of a time when the fruit is reaches the price that it "needs" to be. Edwards had talked about...

China's grip on key food additive By Ron Scherer and Peter Ford Fri Jul 20, 4:00 AM ET A sharp rise in the international price of vitamin C is focusing fresh attention on the risks of the world's growing dependence on China for essential food supplies and additives. China, which exports more than 80 percent of the world's ascorbic acid – also known as vitamin C and a key food preservative – appears to have cut production over the past several months, pushing prices up by more than 200 percent to a four-year high. Customers have scrambled for supplies of...

Adding more credibility to its research into alternative methods for oncologic medical care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America said it has won federal approval to begin a clinical trial studying the potential of intravenous vitamin C as a cancer treatment. While winning U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to begin clinical trials is a regular occurrence for traditional cancer researchers such as the nation's elite comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, Zion-based Cancer Treatment Centers is not known for conducting federally approved research--making the FDA-approved vitamin C trial a bit of a coup for the firm. "Our...

Is mainstream medical science ignoring an inexpensive, painless, readily available cure for cancer? Mark Levine mulls this loaded question. The government nutrition researcher has published new evidence that suggests vitamin C can work like chemotherapy - only better. But so far, he hasn't been able to interest cancer experts in conducting the kind of conclusive studies that, one way or the other, would advance treatment. "If vitamin C is useful in cancer treatment, that's wonderful. If it's not, or if it's harmful, that's fine, too," said Levine, a Harvard-educated physician at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney...

AP SCIENCE WRITER A disappointing new study found that vitamin C and E supplements given to healthy pregnant women do not reduce their risk of developing preeclampsia, a complication that can be lethal to both mother and child. Similarly, a recent British study found that the supplements do not help women who run a high risk of preeclampsia, and might even harm their babies by leading to low birth weight. Preeclampsia happens when vessels in the mother's womb constrict, cutting off blood and oxygen to the fetus. It occurs in late pregnancy and produces a spike in blood pressure. No...

A Quebec company is producing a cigarette it claims does not stain teeth, has less of an odour than regular brands and contains beneficial ingredients like vitamin C. Called the "VitaCig," it was invented by non-smoker Roger Ouellette for his wife, who has smoked a pack of cigarettes every day since the age of 14. "We give you all the vitamins you lose, plus some vitamins to help you," he told CTV News. Health Canada is skeptical of the claim, saying any cigarette is harmful. "I say this half-jokingly: a safe cigarette is one that's not lit," Health Canada spokesperson...

Linus Pauling's book Vitamin C and The Common Cold, published in 1970, was a bestseller and led many people to believe in the value of the vitamin for cold prevention and treatment. But an article in this month's PLoS Medicine reviewing all of the best clinical research on this topic, suggests that the public's enthusiasm for the vitamin may be unjustified. Robert M Douglas of the Australian National University, Canberra, and Harri Hemilä of the University of Helsinki, Finland, reviewed the best quality studies on vitamin C and the common cold done over the last 65 years. All of these...

Vitamin C for Preventing and Treating the Common Cold Robert M. Douglas*, Harri HemiläRobert M. Douglas is at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Harri Hemilä is at the Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Finland.Competing Interests: RMD was an organising author of one of the papers considered in the review. HH declares that he has no competing interests.Published: June 28, 2005DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020168Copyright: © 2005 Douglas and Hemilä. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any...

I never thought I would be doing a vanity on this but here it goes. I am interested in knowing how people cope with Spring allergies. I have never had them until this year apparently. I have had a sore throat now going into day 18,I have seen the doctor twice where once gave me Ketex and decongestion meds and those did nothing,so they ruled out the common cold or flu or any bacterial infection. My throat is still red,I still am congested,I have regular acid reflux (gerd) to be exact so when I sleep at night all of the...

Study: Scurvy Hit Early N. American French Colony 1 hour, 4 minutes ago Science - Reuters CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scurvy wiped out nearly half of the colonists who established one of the first French settlements in North America 400 years ago, scientists confirmed on Monday. The colony existed in 1604 and 1605 on St. Croix Island off present-day Calais, Maine, and St. Stephen, New Brunswick. Nearly half of the 79 settlers died during the harsh winter, prompting survivors to move to what is now Nova Scotia in the summer of 1605. It was one of the earliest European outposts on...

Vitamin E may do "more harm than good" Vitamin E supplements, which millions take in the hope of longer, healthier lives, may do more harm than good, researchers have reported. In fact, people taking high doses of vitamin E may in some cases be more likely to die earlier, although the reasons are not clear, Dr. Edgar Miller of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, who led the study, said on Wednesday. (snip) Miller and colleagues re-analysed 19 studies of vitamin E and health between 1993 and 2004. The trials involved more than 136,000 mostly elderly patients in North America, Europe...